Evolution
by Still Unfinished
Summary: RE6 AU !SPOILERS! Piers saved Chris at the cost of his own humanity, and Chris held out hope that he was still alive, even if he didn't know how or where. But when Neo Umbrella continued their attacks, Chris would find the answers in all the wrong ways.
1. Chapter 1

_**Original Date: 2014**_

 _ **Series: Resident Evil 6 (MAJOR SPOILERS), Resident Evil 5 (timeline stuff, mostly)**_

 _ **Notes: Out of all the stories I had before my medical thing, this was by far the longest one at 20,000 words. I actually really, really didn't care for Resident Evil 6's story at all but by god was it fun to play, and the plot device of Piers mutating himself was super cool. So I decided to take it farther and hopefully made him sound way less boring. This was originally titled Degenerate before I remembered Resident Evil: Degeneration was a thing.**_

 _ **Reasons for abandonment: This was written just a few months before I wound up in the hospital and because I can't remember the majority of 2014-2017 I don't remember WHERE I was going with this at all, and I lost my notes which completely kills me. Out of all these stories, this one is what I'm most interested in finishing, so if you have some ideas for how to continue, feel free to give me a shout! I hope you at least enjoy what I've written so far!**_

 _ **Also RE7 is amazing and maybe one day I'll write a little thing for it.**_

* * *

"I did it...for the BSAA. For the future!"

The exhausted, mutated husk of the soldier breathed heavily as he leaned against his captain. His transformation was truly terrifying, one that for sure would have killed him, and it was only by some miracle that he hadn't fully transformed into the monster he was destined to become. The fact that he still had control over himself had to be by some impressive feat he didn't know he was capable of, or just dumb luck. The torn flesh of where his arm once rested had become a death machine, circled by the sparks of bioorganic electricity, and while they had used its mutation to their advantage and hopefully make it out alive he wondered how long it would take before his whole body succumbed to it. Chris looked at Piers in such desperation, being absolutely terrified that he was about to lose his partner, and the only surviving member of his team, once again.

"Come on Piers, stay with me…we're going to get you out of here."

The pain was absolutely unbearable. While his body had distilled the shocks from the electricity that his arm produced and healed any damage he received, the unnatural twisting and pops of his flesh and muscles were something he could still feel. His face was slowly being eaten alive by the tendrils that worked its way up it and dug into his skin, his right eye having lost its vision and glassing over to an icy blue. He could still see, but his view had become a half-and-half mix of color and detail with fuzzy outlines of what was around him. Chris got Piers back onto his feet, and while the young sharpshooter hobbled at first, he managed to regain his footing and work up just enough energy to charge for an escape, whatever or wherever that may be. The two avoided the monsters and the crashing debris of the facility that chased them in the process, Piers using his energy to shoot a clearing when needed and his adrenaline to keep his legs going, and soon they had stumbled upon a chamber. Chris immediately searched for a means out, quickly taking notice of the windowed doors that dotted the walls.

"Escape pods!" His voice sounded joyous, if only by relief. The BSAA operative started pressing buttons on one of the panels when Piers had tumbled to the ground, the mutation taking a heavy toll on him. His breaths came in a short staccato, finally reaching a point of normality only when he took in a deep sigh. Chris shouted words at Piers, though he could hardly understand them—something along the lines of "We'll make it!" and "Keep fighting it!" Piers propped himself against the wall, taking a glance at his mutated arm. Torn flesh, black muscles, claws and bones that shocked him in their abnormality. The look of it disgusted him, and he knew it would be only a matter of time before his entire body became nothing short of that.

 _Only a matter of time…_ He resonated on that thought, mulling over the possibilities of what could happen. He saw what had become of their team throughout their travels under Chris's command: the infections they had suffered by the hand of Ada, the monsters that emerged from their cocooned bodies. And now, the zombies the people of the city had undoubtedly transformed into after their failure to stop the missile. Though Piers had not become something as simple as the city's undead inhabitants, nor had he been encased in the shell of his own body and escaped as something more inhuman than he was now, he was still on his way to becoming the very things they fought against...what he and his captain and everyone else at the BSAA had dedicated their lives to defending the world from. It was only a matter of time before he fully succumbed to the virus, only a matter of time before he would lose his control and kill Chris, along with anyone else if he managed to escape. He breathed deeply, the realization running through him and freezing his body. _I won't let it happen_ , he thought, taking a breath as a way to calm himself. He knew what had to be done.

A beep had sounded and the hatch to one of the pods had popped open. Chris immediately walked over to his partner, a desperate "C'mon, let's go!" escaping from his lips. Piers looked up to him and firmly grasped his captain's outstretched hand, though guilt had immediately made his limbs even weaker. He didn't want to do this, but he had no choice. The two ran to the pod, but before Piers had entered it, he halted them both, using Chris's moment of confusion as a way to shove him into it, and immediately slammed the door shut while his captain stumbled to regain his footing.

"Piers!" Chris shouted, running over to the door and slamming his hands on it. "Piers, what are you doing?" The young man watched as his partner searched desperately for a means to open the door and reunite with his final remaining team member, but there was no way—the controls had been locked as a form of a safety feature. "Piers, open the goddamn door!" He continued to shout variations of those words, demanding, pleading for Piers to take back his decision. But Piers refused. He hobbled to the control panel, grabbing the release lever with the last of his energy, and pushed it inward. A pop signified the detachment of the pod from the bay, and Chris seemed to release all his remaining breath into one final scream. But Piers just stood there, his face stern in determination as he looked directly into Chris's hardened eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, watching as the pod shot itself from the bay and sped up towards the surface. He hated making this decision, and hated it even more that he had taken a part in making his captain's worst fear—losing his whole team—a repeated reality. But had he not, he would have for sure killed Chris when he had fully transformed, making his _own_ fear a reality. The BSAA, and the good of the world, needed Chris Redfield alive and well. Piers hoped, though he knew it would not be immediate, Chris would one day forgive him and understand why it had to be done. "It's been an honor serving with you, Captain," he said to the sounds of destruction around him.

But one of those sounds was terrifyingly familiar. Piers turned around and backed up in shock as the walls came crashing down with such force, an unnatural, beastly scream erupting from their place. Slimed, blue skin of a hand shot forward and grabbed Piers, practically strangling him with its strength. He was pulled forward as the human hybrid of a monster they had just barely managed to escape before erupted from the facility and burst the walls open, barreling through the water faster than any speed he had ever seen a BOW travel. Piers struggled as he tried to free himself, the water hitting him unexpectedly and leaving him with less than ideal oxygen in his lungs. He turned around and realized the exact destination of his captor—they were heading right for Chris, and the creature was undoubtedly going to kill them both.

For a moment, Piers had locked eyes directly with the hardened BSAA soldier. He could hardly make out the details of the man's face, Piers's already half-blinded vision being distorted even more by the rushing water, but he knew Chris had taken notice of him by his body movements—a startled shake in surprise, of both the monster and his partner being alive and well. The creature slammed into Chris's escape pod, halting its course and shaking it wildly with its immense weight. It encased the steel vessel like a kraken, and Piers knew immediately that if the creature were to keep up it would soon burst the pod open, drowning Chris and himself should he remain in its grasp for much longer. Without even thinking of the possible consequences, Piers dug the claw-like attachments of his mutated arm into the flesh of the half-human beast, sending an electric shock into its muscle with what little energy he had left. Blue lightning danced around his body and violently shook the arm of the creature; the water most certainly had to have amplified the power, because a sharp pain jolted Piers's arm in return. The monster screeched in what he assumed to be great pain, and Piers mimicked that from his own, giving up the last of the oxygen he had. He was released, and the monster drifted away from the pod...but not for long. The beast shifted around again, getting ready to attack once more when Piers had released another charge of energy from his arm, sending hundreds if not thousands of volts directly at its head. The monster screeched once again, and the remainder of its body burst in a murky explosion of blood and organic matter. Piers only had a few moments to revel in his victory when his vision had blacked out, his final thoughts being what he thought was a yelp for his name from his captain as he drifted away.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: Ada Wong is referred to a lot from here on out. I know that wasn't actually Ada, but I don't think Chris ever learned that.**_

* * *

"Tell us again what happened, Captain Redfield."

The BSAA captain heaved a great sigh at the question he had been asked for the...fourth, fifth time now? He was exhausted, the disaster that happened at the underwater facility being only hours ago. When his escape pod had finally emerged on the surface, contact with his communicator was reestablished and immediately he was contacted by the BSAA, desperately concerned of what had happened to both he and his partner. Chris informed them of his situation, requesting a search and rescue team to find Piers. The memory of his infection and his body floating in the water was burned into the man's troubled mind, keeping his thoughts muddled. They had reason to believe the young sharpshooter was dead, and given the fact that it had been hours since the search team had been dispatched, he could have most certainly drowned by now. But they also had reason to believe that he was alive, if just by denial or stubborn insistence. The lack of a body could confirm that Piers had managed to escape to land, and the healing powers he now possessed as a BOW could have saved him from drowning, but Chris had nothing to prove this other than witnessing his partner's body floating in the water after his incredible attack against the beast that had stalked their escape. He sighed as he prepared to explain himself one more time.

"When we reached the main room, it dawned on us that the entire purpose of the facility was to act as an incubator of sorts for one specific BOW, a human/sea creature hybrid dubbed as Haos for Neo Umbrella. We had managed to activate the lifts to take us to the upper levels, but then the BOW hatched from its cocoon and attacked us."

"This is when you were separated from Agent Sherry Birkin of National Security and the man she was escorting, Jake Muller, correct?"

"Yes," Chris simply nodded.

"Do you have any idea where they went after that?" He shook his head.

"No. They ran into a room that was sealed by heavy blast doors behind them. The way there had been destroyed by Haos soon after."

"I see." The BSAA representatives stared at Chris with a mask of monotone emotions, making it difficult for the hardened agent to determine what their thoughts were. "Continue, please."

"Piers and I managed to escape the creature and reached a large storage room of sorts. We had only a moment of relief when it came back again and had thrown us across the room. Piers was impaled by a thick piece of shrapnel in his shoulder and was pinned against a wall. The BOW then threw a large chunk of debris at him, which crushed Piers's arm and made it impossible for just myself to free him."

"And then you say this is when he took the injection?"

"Yes." Chris halted his words, trying to read the eyes of the representative, but it was just a reflection of the mask of stone his own emotions were following. "At this point the BOW had grabbed me and was trying to kill me by strangulation. The syringe we had confiscated from Ada Wong had flown from my bag and had landed on the ground not too far from Piers's position."

"And then you say he forced himself free from where he was pinned—severing his entire right arm from the shoulder in the process—dragged himself to the syringe and gave himself the injection, simply as a means of saving you?"

"Yes."

"And you admit neither of you had any idea of what the injection contained before that moment?"

"No, we didn't." Chris could feel his eyes slightly narrow as the representative tapped her fingers against the table, a chorus of whispers and muttered words circling around him. A different representative followed the question.

"And you believe that this is a new virus, or at the very least, one that is enhanced from an existing one, created by Ada Wong and Neo Umbrella?"

"Yes."

"Interesting…" the representative muttered. Once again, the room had stirred into a blend of hushed voices, until the woman questioning him before raised her hand to silence them.

"It might interest you, Captain Redfield, that both Sherry Birkin and Jake Muller had escaped the facility," she stated. Chris's eyes perked up at this.

"Are they both ok?" he immediately questioned, more concerned for the young Sherry's condition than that of Wesker's son. The woman nodded.

"Indeed, the both of them were picked up by National Security and Agent Birkin has since filed her report. Normally, we don't collaborate on matters regarding bioterrorism with National Security, but given how you two had crossed paths at an important point, and we had found that Agent Birkin's superior, Derek Simmons, was one of the minds behind Neo Umbrella's inception, we found it in our best interest to receive a copy of Agent Birkin's report." The representative went through the notebook in front of her, taking a moment to go over the bullet points she had listed. "In it," she began, "Agent Birkin details how she and Jake Muller were detained at an unknown facility in China for six months, undergoing experiments pertaining to the development of Neo Umbrella's viruses. It would seem that Ada Wong had used Jake Muller's blood, who naturally produces antibodies to the C-Virus, as a way to enhance it. We are uncertain of what ways this includes, but given the situation of what happened with Simmons, as you have already been informed about, we believe it is a way to make the virus much stronger, practical, and usable. Derek Simmons was still able to retain his free will even after undergoing many transformations, as well as completely skipping the process of these 'cocoon' stages you have spoken of. Given what you have described having happened to young Agent Nivans, we believe he had infected himself with this enhanced version." Another mutter encircled the room, and Chris took a moment to mull over the words. Though he kept his face blank from emotion, his mind was filled with many—confusion, concern, perhaps even desperation.

"Where are you going with this?" he questioned, dreading if there was something they hadn't yet told him about. He stared down the BSAA representative, she returning his gaze.

"My point is, Captain, it is not out of the question to consider Agent Nivans a threat now." Chris's fingers clenched at this, his muscles suddenly feeling tense. A threat. A _threat?_

" _A threat?_ " he spat, almost slamming his fist on the table. "To who? He saved my life!" His voice was raising now.

" _Indeed_ , Captain Redfield, but he is also infected by a virus we know little about, and seeing the destruction that Derek Simmons caused in China, it is well within our right to be concerned." The representative remained seated, her words being of a calm matter, though she struggled to speak over Chris's booming voice. "Now, you say that Agent Nivans had tried to remain behind, and had to trick you in order to do so. It is easy to conclude from this that he was well aware of the consequences his actions could create, and therefore wanted to terminate himself before the mutation had fully taken over him, is it not?" Chris breathed heavily at the representative's words, refusing to take his narrowed eyes off hers. "But his attempt was foiled in the sense that Haos had once again captured him, essentially saving him from the resulting explosion of the facility, and leaving him adrift in the water after he had killed the BOW. Our men are now out there looking for him, as they have been for many hours, and have not come across him. You cannot blame us for being concerned about this situation."

"Concerned for what?" Chris asked, his voice now calm but stingy from the remainder of his anger. "Saving a young man's life?"

"Calm yourself, Captain, and understand what we are trying to do here." She glared into his eyes, her body remaining motionless, mirroring Chris's current behavior. "We don't want to lose him either. _I_ don't want to lose him either. This bioterrorist attack has caused more than enough people to die and we have lost many of our men. Agent Nivans is a great asset to the BSAA and we will do everything in our power to find a way to rid him of the virus. National Security has already given us a sample of Jake Muller's blood and all the information we need to create a vaccine to prevent infection of the C-Virus, and the UN has agreed to collaborate with us which will help speed up the process. But as captain of Agent Nivan's team, as well as being the co-founder of this organization, we feel you have a right to know that there is a _very real_ possibility that he can become a threat to the well-being of the world, and should it come to it, we will have to terminate him." They sat in silence, the usual rounds of whispers being absent as all eyes were on Chris. Chris left them without words for a moment, his mind too mixed to form his thoughts into words.

"So what are you saying, then?" he began, focusing entirely on the woman before him. "That this search isn't to rescue him at all, but to make sure he gets into our control before he loses his own?" The representative didn't nod or shake her head at this.

"Our intention is to save him," she finally responded. "But it is better if he is in our custody should his mutations overpower him so that we may stop him first." Their eye contact was never broken, the tension between them being almost visible. It twisted Chris's muscles at the very thought of her words. "Now," she said, almost sighing. "I understand you must be exhausted. We will continue searching for Agent Nivans, and should we find him, we will let you know immediately. Until then, get some rest, and we will discuss the situation in the morning." Chris slowly got up from his chair at these words, standing still for a moment and looking at the group of representatives seated at the table. He then turned around and left without saying a word, the event that just transcribed still being processed.


	3. Chapter 3

Three months had passed since Chris's debriefing. Not a single trickle of evidence to Piers being alive, or his whereabouts, had been discovered since then. The days seemed to drag on, Chris's apprehension to the situation most likely being the culprit for it. Nightmares plagued his sleep at night, and his memories haunted him by day. The soldier spent an especially long time in the shower that morning, one arm pressed against the wall, his head resting against it. He hardly so much cleaned himself as he did just stand there, hoping the water would somehow erase the thoughts that followed him. It wasn't as therapeutic as he'd hoped.

A bottle of Jack Daniel's remained in his quarters. Though technically it was against the BSAA's regulations to store alcohol in agents' rooms or have them drink while they were there—a simple matter of safety precaution—Chris had snuck it in there a while ago. Only a fourth of the bottle remained, the rest of it having been consumed in some other nights long ago. He didn't used to be so much of a drinker, but his time wandering bars in Eastern Europe and trying to drink his wages, bringing a strike of amnesia with it, made him appreciate its prowess. Well, maybe not so much prowess as it was controllable destruction. Chris dried himself off and threw on some fatigues, then sat down on his bed and stared at the cabinet where the Jack resided. He sat there in silence for a few minutes, decisions running through his head. _I don't need it_ , he tried to convince himself. _I shouldn't need it._ His emotions were still stirring in his mind, his complete desperation from losing his entire team once more, and this time his partner, being held back by a mental wall that was slowly breaking down as each day passed with no more information. Though he still continued his missions, Chris only did so because he felt he owed it to Piers to take back his word of his retirement like he had asked. He was slowly getting past not having Piers as his second-in-command anymore, but Chris feared every mission that he would come back alone. The BSAA captain got up and walked toward the cabinet, digging out the bottle of Jack, and momentarily stared at it in his hand. _Piers wouldn't want this._ He'd be damned if the liquid bronze wouldn't feel good down his throat right now, but he knew it was too easy to spiral back into the mess he was in but a few months ago.

"You know you shouldn't drink that during work hours."

Chris was alarmed at the sudden intrusion to his thoughts. Were he in any other situation he would probably stow the bottle back in shame, but he hardly had much of a care anymore for what people would think of him as he was grieving. He looked up and noticed a woman at the door, her face all too familiar and yet completely unexpected.

"Jill?"

His longtime partner smiled at him, her figure cloaked in blue like she always was. She was leaning against his door, arms crossed, as though she had been there all this time. Since her escape from Wesker in Africa, the BSAA had agreed to letting her retake her old position, but only if she had undergone retraining, rehabilitation, and a psychiatric evaluation. They wanted to be sure that any traces of the mind-controlling virus had been completely dispelled, and that there was no possibility that she would relapse or unconsciously continue to support the efforts of Wesker, despite Chris and Sheva having completely terminated both the man and his plans those years ago. Her mind had also muddled from her capture and forced attack on her old friend, creating a form of PTSD that took years of slow progression back into her military lifestyle before she was comfortable in combat again. Chris had kept in contact with Jill regularly, even visiting her when they would allow it at times, until the situation in Edonia made him completely disappear for several months. He had been so caught up in his own recovery upon his return that he had neglected to keep up with her. Surprised, yet delighted to see her, he asked her, "When did you get back?" Jill smirked, then walked over to him.

"Just now, actually. They debriefed me about the whole situation in China." She stopped just in front of him, placing a hand on his shoulder and staring right in his eyes. She leaned into him and gave him a hug, and after some hesitation Chris put down the bottle of Jack and returned the embrace. Unprofessional, perhaps, but he needed the support. They separated and she locked eyes with his, her gaze bright but her expression serious. "They told me about Piers. I am so sorry." The apology was genuine, and Chris knew she was speaking from experience. He was in a lot of pain when she was presumed dead as well, but at least at that point he wasn't trying to recover from a dark place in his life. If he lost her right after his disappearance from Edonia, he probably would have tried to drink away his memory then as well. "If you ever want to talk about anything, let me know." Chris left her without a comment.

"So…" He tried to find words to continue the conversation. "Are they letting you back in yet?" He put the bottle back in its hidden place in the cabinet, untouched. Jill nodded, although she let out a slight sigh.

"Yeah," she exhaled, "but I must always be accompanied by a team or at least a partner who can keep their eyes on me at all times. They're convinced I won't turn psycho and try to kill everyone but they don't know if that will change in a battle situation. Other than the simulations, I mean." Chris let out a smirk and shook his head. It was perhaps the only emotion other than sorrow he had shown in months.

"Well for what it's worth, I trust you."

"I trust me too, but I guess I'm not really the final judge of that." She turned around and started walking towards the door. "Anyway, the reps need to see you right now. They've got Sheva on one of the coms—apparently they had a break-in."

"What?" Confused, Chris followed her as she left the room. "Anything taken?"

"Yeah, and it sounds bad. I dunno the details though, they didn't tell me much."

After walking down a few hallways and passing many of the busy rooms and employees about, the two arrived in a conference room that contained a few of the BSAA representatives from Chris's debriefing three months ago. Sheva's presence was displayed on a projected image against the wall, her face lighting up when she saw the old friend walk in.

" _Chris! It's so good to see you,_ " she told him. " _You had me worried for a while there_."

"It's good to see you too, Sheva," he replied, his voice full of relief of seeing a familiar face. "What happened down there?"

" _Right,"_ she began. " _Someone broke into our headquarters last night. We don't know who it was but they came in with brute force. We had to send a medical team to take care of all the injured. Our communications were damaged during the encounter and we just got them back online or else we would have told you sooner."_

"Did you see who it was?" Chris immediately questioned. Sheva shook her head.

" _I was not there, but so far the witnesses we've asked did not see anyone. They didn't even know there was an intruder until they were attacked and knocked unconscious."_ This seemed rather suspicious to Chris.

"No one saw anyone at all? What about the video feeds?"

" _We already went through all the feeds we have; there's nothing there. There are some instances where you can see some sort of interaction happening, but you can't see the source at all."_ Sheva sounded just as confused as he was. " _We suspect whoever the intruder was may have been cloaked."_ Jill and Chris looked at each other in disbelief; cloaking was possible with some BOW's, but it was rare, and as far as they were aware none of their enemies had such a technology that could be used by unaltered humans yet. A brief flash of the invisible snake-like BOW flashed through Chris's mind, and the man had to drift his eyes out of focus until the memory of his teammates being killed had subsided.

"Was anything taken, Sheva?" he finally continued. Sheva nodded, concern softening her voice.

" _Yes, and you're not going to like it. Do you remember...P30?"_

The captain's brow narrowed at the mention of the name. Jill seemed more shocked than he was, or at least she expressed it more than he did, though it seemed those emotions quickly turned into anger.

"You mean that stuff Wesker had injected into me?" She seemed to also be worried, though not so much from the robbery itself but by the thought that the brainwashing chemical was now out in the open somewhere. Chris had no doubt that the memory of her being forced to attack her old partner were flashing through her mind at the present. She would never wish that fate on anyone, not for what it did to her.

" _Yes,"_ Sheva confirmed. " _The vial we had stored for testing was stolen. The injecting device, however, was left behind, and we suspect that may be because it is broken beyond repair."_ Chris shook his head.

"This isn't good," he commented, returning his view to Jill beside her.

"You can say that again," she added. "I don't know who these people are or what they're planning, but it sounds bad."

"How much of P30 was in the vial, Sheva?" Chris asked.

" _Not very much, especially after the testing we had done throughout the years. It was only however much was left in the device after we took it from Jill."_

"So that's not very much then," Jill resonated.

"But it could be enough to study and produce more," Chris noted.

"Really? But we've hardly found a way to reverse-engineer it."

"True, but if it's Neo Umbrella that stole it, they'll find a way faster than we'd be ready for it."

" _Are you even sure it's Neo Umbrella?"_

"I don't know. But at the moment, the suspect list is pretty slim. I don't know of any other organizations that have cloaking abilities, and by the sound of it, that was a BOW that busted in there. If they're anything like their predecessor, I have no doubt that they will continue to follow through with their plans until we destroy them once and for all." Sheva let out a murmur of concerned understanding, while Jill seemed to be lost in her thoughts. Chris continued, "Is there anything else you need to report, Sheva?"

" _No, but we'll be sure to let you know if we find anything else."_

"Understood. You be careful now."

" _You too, Chris."_ With that, one of the representatives—the woman who lead Chris's debriefing—ended the call.

"As Agent Valentine had said, this is an incredibly troubling situation," she began. "I can only imagine if someone has stolen the P30 that they have full intention to create more and use it."

"And if they succeed, we'll have an army of brainwashed super soldiers to deal with," Jill muttered. The representative nodded.

"Indeed, and with the gigantic hit Lanshiang was to both our men and resources, this is something that can easily become a problem to both our security and the security of the world."

"They just stole it, though," Chris interrupted. "It's going to take them a while before they make enough to fit a whole army. If that's even what they're planning..."

Jill shook her head in discontent. "Maybe so, but when Wesker forced me to battle you, I nearly killed both you and Sheva just by myself."

"True, but most of that was when he gave you that extra dosage," Chris commented. "However, the default dosage would definitely be enough to overpower many men depending on what the thief is planning to do with it."

"And we don't know who they are _or_ what they are planning, so there's an extreme risk here," the representative added. "I would imagine if they have stolen the P30 they are fully aware of what it is and how it may work, and I would assume they will be making their own device to replace the one that was taken from Agent Valentine, if they haven't made one already." She walked closer to the two and placed her hands behind her back. "I'll be sending a team to the BSAA West African branch to assist Agent Alomar as well as working on bolstering security and sending out teams to see if we can catch the culprit. Until then, I want you to—" The representative was suddenly cut off by the door swinging open and one of the BSAA employees running over to the representative. He muttered something into her ear, and immediately a look of concern swept across her face. She thanked the employee and he once again ran off, and she returned her gaze to the agents before her.

"I've just been informed that there has been a bioterrorist attack in the Middle East."


	4. Chapter 4

"Over there!" The helicopter that carried Chris and his team circled around a cloud of debris and dust that had just erupted from the village below. In a state of emergency, the BSAA had sent Chris and his team to assist the Middle Eastern branch in their efforts to control the bioterrorist attack. Jill had accompanied them as well, feeling that her first mission since her absence would go best with her longtime partner, and she wanted to get the babysitting out of the way so that the BSAA could trust her again. By the time they had arrived at the location hours had already passed, yet it seemed the destruction was still far from over.

"What are we up against?" one of the operatives questioned. Another one pulled up her rifle and sighted down the scope to get a better look. One of the mutated, hulking figures of a BOW was briefly visible as it leaped across a set of rooftops, not long enough for the markswoman to take a shot but enough to figure out what it was.

"Napads!" she shouted. "I can't tell how many though—there's too much debris around."

"Napads?" Jill questioned from the back. "They're the big muscular things with the hardened shell on their backs, right? I saw them in the report." Chris confirmed her suspicions.

"Alright, listen up," he belted over the beating of the blades. "Jill and I will try and rendezvous with Delta team of BSAA Middle East. I want the rest of you to split into two teams and see if you can evacuate the wounded and any citizens that may be left. We don't know exactly what is down there and I want you to proceed with caution. Understood?"

"Yes, captain!" his team echoed. The helicopter proceeded low enough for them to jump out, and immediately they split ways, Chris and Jill going west where Delta team was last reported, the others splitting between east and north.

"Why would they attack here?" Jill questioned, swapping out her handgun for the rifle on her back. "And who's even orchestrating these attacks?"

"I don't know," Chris murmured, keeping himself on alert. "But since it's Napads, it's probably Neo Umbrella."

"I thought you said their leaders were killed though. Wong and Simmons, right?" A screech from one of the creatures erupted from the rooftops above, and Chris and Jill took cover against a wall next to a doorway.

"Cut the head off the Hydra and it just grows more," Chris answered, pulling out a shotgun and aiming it upwards to the source. "Wong probably left plans in case of her demise to have the rest of the organization pick it up and continue." Jill averted her eyes in concern, realizing the truth in his words.

Another screech erupted in the ears of the agents. Pounding beats stomped on the roof above them and a Napad came launching forward, crashing onto the ground with its back to the operatives. Taking advantage of the situation, Chris immediately took a shot at its shell, cracking part of it open and exposing the muscular structure underneath. The creature roared in pain, then turned around and charged at the two of them. Jill immediately rolled out of the way, but Chris's natural bulk weighed him down just enough for the creature to grab him and crash directly into the wall. The structure shattered, covering the BSAA captain and his captor in stone and wood; the collapse slammed the Napad onto the ground, which trapped Chris under its weight. Chris reached for his shotgun but found it had gone flying when he was attacked. Instead, he grabbed his knife and immediately started hacking away at the Napad's elbow, where its muscle was exposed. As if the pain had jump started the creature back to life, it sprung upward, steam shooting from its body and knocking off the layers of destruction atop it. Now free from the weight, Chris immediately began crawling backwards, pulling out his handgun and getting ready to shoot. The Napad raised its arm in preparation to crush Chris with its force, but before it could take a swing Jill leapt onto its back and dug her knife underneath the opening of its shell. The monster immediately tried to swing her off, but Jill held on and released a loud grunt as she pried a section of the shell straight off the beast. Now shaking wildly, Jill wrapped her legs around the Napad's massive size and started stabbing repeatedly at its exposed flesh. The speed of her motion was unrivaled, and within moments she had practically minced the creature's backside into bits of muscle and organs. Finally bested, the beast tumbled forward, and Chris scurried to his feet before it trapped him under its weight once again.

Jill stepped on top of the deceased monster's back, picking up Chris's shotgun and tossing it back to him. Chris caught it with ease, and put his handgun back in exchange.

"Now I remember why I never try to challenge you to a knife fight." He vaulted over the debris to reunite with the woman.

"Glad to have me back on the team?" she asked.

"Always."

Another scream came echoing from the distance, though this time it sounded human, and not that far off. Realizing it could be one of the residents in trouble, Jill and Chris immediately took off to the source, guns at the ready. They continued to chase the following yelps until they came across a dead-end alleyway, a Napad standing before its next victim who was pushed up against the wall, though Chris couldn't see their identity behind the hulking BOW. Jill aimed her rifle and took a shot at the Napad, although the creature moved in an attack at the last second and the bullet embedded itself in the wall above it. The Napad smashed the ground before it, though it seemed like the person it was attacking managed to move out of the way as Chris didn't hear a scream follow. The beast jerked backwards as pounding sounds were heard—was the person trying to punch it back? —and Chris was amazed as he saw bits of its shell come flying off. There appeared to be some sort of hesitation, then the Napad came flying backwards. Jill took notice of something shimmering in a gap of its shell, and she immediately grabbed Chris and ran back when she realized what it was.

" _Grenade!"_ Jill and Chris leapt to their stomachs as an explosion erupted just behind them, sending flying bits of muscle, bone, and blood everywhere. Chris turned around to see a cloud of dust behind him, followed by the shadow of a figure as it walked through.

"Shit, was there someone there? I didn't see ya, you alri-" The figure halted his sentence as he stopped dead in his tracks, taking notice of the BSAA agents while they got back on their feet. "Oh hey, daddy killer. Wasn't expecting to see you here." Chris brushed the debris off, realizing now why he found the voice so familiar.

"Jake." Wesker's son was before him, looking just as smug as ever, though it was clear to see the tension between the two had never dwindled. Jake walked closer to the BSAA agents, stopping only a few steps away from Chris. Jake looked at him, then let out a slight smirk and shook his head; Chris only left him with an emotionless stare.

"Jake?" Jill questioned, scanning the man before her. "You mean...this is-"

"Wesker's son," Chris finished. Jill's confused expression turned into a glare, no doubt in reflection of past memories of her traitorous captain from many years ago. Jake spread his hands out and shrugged, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"Hey, I'm not proud of it either, lady," he commented. "Believe me, I'm glad I grew up just thinking good ol' dad was a deadbeat instead of a goddamn mass murderer." He returned his attention back to Chris, jerking his chin at him. "So. You here on business or something?"

"We're here to assist the BSAA against the bioterrorist attack," Chris answered, taking a step closer towards Jake. "Know anything that's going on here?" Jake stared at him for a bit before he answered.

"Nah. I'm just here to fulfill a promise I made to some kid."

"Promise?" Chris questioned. Jake took out his handgun and checked the clip.

"Yeah. He gets me a bite to eat, and in return I take care of these BOW's. Now, as you can see…" He put the weapon back in its holster when he was satisfied. "...I got everything under control. So why don't you and the rest of your war buddies go ahead and go back to your little playdate, alright?"

Before Chris could fully comprehend Jake's words, a hiss erupted from the sky. Chris recognized it as the sound of an RPG, and he knew exactly what came after it. An explosion blasted from the side of the building, sparking shrapnel like embers in a fire and suddenly half of the building's wall came sliding down. Realizing that Chris was directly underneath the falling debris, Jill shouted her partner's name and shoved him forward, just barely managing to separate the two before the rubble tumbled to the ground. Chris regained his footing and ran over to the wall of debris, searching for Jill through any gaps, but it found it to be solid.

"Jill!" he shouted. "Are you alright?" He heard Jake getting to his feet as well, brushing off the dust on his shirt.

"I'm ok!" Jill answered. Chris was relieved at her condition, but now they were separated, the two men being trapped at the dead end. But his team needed him, and he was confident they would find a way out, somehow.

"Jake and I are going to find a way around," he yelled. "You go meet up with Delta and help them take down the BOW's." Jake let out a grunt hearing that he had to work with Chris. Chris didn't feel any better about the situation, but now was not the time to let past ties get in the way.

"Will do!" Jill shouted. "You be careful."

"I'll be fine," Chris said, and he heard Jill's footprints stomping away. He turned around to face Jake, and stepped closer to see if there was any way out of the dead end.

"She your girlfriend or something, pal?" Jake asked. "What happened to your little yes man?" Chris thought of Piers and how he would probably snap at Jake for calling him that. He let it slide, however, as he felt it wasn't worth compromising the mission over.

"Piers has been declared MIA since our escape from the underwater facility," he simply stated. He tried to change the subject. "Help me find a way out of here." Jake only answered him with the sound of cracking his knuckles, stretching his neck by waving it back and forth. Chris took a look at the wall of debris, and noticed that it seemed to slope upward toward the remainder of the building beside it. He could see a hole in the ceiling, and he pondered if it was possible for Jake to pick him up from there. He looked at the rubble and started finding footholds on a whim, not even looking behind him when he told Jake, "Follow me." Though reluctant, Jake obeyed, muttering things under his breath.

"As you say, sir," he grunted. Though they slipped at times, the two made it up, and Chris used his hands as a step for Jake, who used it more as a jumping point to reach the hole in the roof and pull Chris up. He struggled from his immense mass, shouting, "You know….it might do you good to lay off the steak dinners every once in a while." Chris simply tuned out his remarks.

The men had barely managed to regain their balance when a roar had sounded from behind them. Another Napad stood on the roof directly behind them, holding a chunk of the building that it had ripped off, and before either Chris or Jake had a chance to shoot it the beast immediately threw it at them. Realizing they had no chance of avoiding it, Chris simply shouted, "Jump!" and grabbed Jake as he fell towards the ground below. They landed in a pile of hay that sent out a fury of panicking chickens, which did just enough to cushion their fall but not enough to stop pain shooting up through Chris's shoulder from the impact.

"Nice work," Jake shouted, murmuring about his own pain he felt from the unprepared landing. He shook off a chicken that jumped by. "Got anymore bright ideas?" His thoughts were interrupted by a gigantic mutated arm that came swinging towards the two, at a speed that neither expected. They were bashed against the wall, and the air in Chris's lungs was knocked out with a heavy grunt at the impact. He could hear sounds in a distorted language being shout, and through blurry vision he managed to make out what at first looked like a group of civilians, but it didn't take Chris long to notice the mutations that plagued their body: multiple eyes on their faces, with some of their limbs being replaced by bug-like transformations. It was the unmistakable characteristics of the J'avo, and it alarmed Chris that someone seemed to be trying to replicate the forced injections on the soldiers in Edonia.

"Aww hell," he could hear Jake mutter, though he wasn't sure if that was just from the pain of the impact or if he also noticed the threat that surrounded them. The J'avo began to haphazardly stomp closer towards them-thinking fast, Chris grabbed a flash bang from his pouch, pulled the pin with his teeth, and rolled it forward, shouting a quick warning towards Jake. The J'avo were immediately dazed by the flash, and the two men pulled out their guns and took them down as fast as they could. Some of them sprouted mutations from the shots, matching those that already sported abnormal limbs or bug-like features. Chris did his best to mow down the enemies with his shotgun, whereas Jake went for a more hand-to-hand direction and single-handedly punched most of them to the ground. His skill was impressive, and were they in any other situation Chris would probably compliment him. After a few intensive moments, the last J'avo fell to the ground and disintegrated in burning sparks. The two men took a moment to catch their breath.

"Why the hell are they here?" Jake spat. "I thought the whole reason you assholes needed my blood was so this didn't happen again!" There was anger in Jake's words, though the motives behind it were unclear to Chris—frustration, anger at the BSAA, maybe even sympathy for seeing more innocent people infected.

"The UN has been administering the antidote for the C-virus for the last two and a half months," Chris commented. "They started with larger cities as they felt they were most likely to be targets in another bioterrorist attack and have been working their way through to the smaller towns. A village like this would be on the later end due to its size."

"And what a steaming pile of crap that is." Jake kicked the dirty ground, shouting a curse as he exhaled. "Now more people are dying from this goddamn virus because of you incompetent—"

" _I'm angry at it too_ ," Chris interrupted sternly. He surprised himself with the motive in those words. He took a second to collect himself. "The antidote has been entirely out of the BSAA's control after the UN took over. Nobody expected this would happen again, and not here." Jake glared at him, but he left Chris without a counterargument.

Footsteps echoed down the alleyways and the two men immediately aimed their guns at the source—Chris lowered it back down, however, when he realized it was simply Jill and the rest of Delta team. He was slightly relieved to know they made it through ok, though it did nothing to erase his uneasiness at the situation.

"What happened?" Jill asked. "We saw J'avo—you guys ok?" Jake brushed off the debris from his shirt wordless; Chris took it upon himself to explain what had just transpired.

"We have never seen an attack like this before," Delta team's captain told them. "I do not know why they would attack here of all places."

"We can worry about that later," Chris said. "Right now we need to make sure the situation is completely under control." Chris used his communicator to try and radio the rest of his team; he was relieved when all of their voices chimed in. "All of you," he started, "I need you to do a thorough sweep to make sure we have gotten everyone. Beware the J'avo, their random mutations make them an extreme threat." He focused his attention back on the team before them. "Are there any wounded that need assisting?"

"We have evacuated everyone we could find," a woman in Delta responded. "We currently have a medical team taking care of the wounded and heavy guard to be sure no BOW's get to them." Jake walked forward to the rest of them, concern surprisingly leaking into his voice.

"Any kids got hurt?" he questioned. "I'm looking for a kid, he was wearing white clothes and a turban. Male, maybe nine or ten, or eleven or something, I don't know—"

"I assure you we have gotten everyone out safely," Delta's captain responded. "We will continue our search just to be sure as well as eliminate anymore BOW's that may be hiding and contain the outbreak of J'avo." Jake shook his head.

"Yeah, well I'm coming with you," he said sternly.

"So am I," Chris immediately jumped in. "We'll be able to cover more ground if we split up. North American Branch will head for the town plaza; Delta team can cover the buildings and make sure we didn't miss anyone. I'll get a team in the air and do a final sweep to make sure there are no more threats present."

"Understood," the teams echoed. Jill started walking ahead; Jake was about to follow when Chris shouted at him to stop. Annoyed, Jake turned around, a glare lowering his brow.

"When this is all finished I'm afraid we'll have to take you back for some questioning," Chris announced. Jake rolled his eyes and threw his hands up, as though he had been caught doing some sort of petty crime.

"You're kidding, right? I had nothing to do with this."

"I know you didn't. But the BSAA will want to know why you were here and what else you had seen. We need to get down to the bottom of this." Jake jerked his fingers at him in a fake salute, before taking off to catch up with Jill.

"Whatever you say, 'captain'," he growled.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Warning: this chapter contains a (brief) torture scene.**_

* * *

Over three hours had passed since Chris and the rest of his team had returned to the BSAA after handling the bioterrorist attack in the Middle East. Jake had reunited with the boy he was looking for, who seemed incredibly shocked to see him, and more-so when he said he "kept his promise". The BSAA had declared the situation as controlled, though the BSAA Middle East decided to hang back and patrol the area in case of a return of any threat, or whoever had infected the townspeople with the C-virus. Jake sat at a table in one of the interrogation rooms the BSAA headquarters had; though normally they saved this sort of activity for the police, they had one just in case of extreme circumstances. The BSAA felt it was best to hold Jake until they got a clear idea of his story, and until they were one hundred percent sure he had no involvement in the attack. Jake, of course, was not at all happy about his apparent detainment, and he took no leisure in announcing his displeasure.

Chris gently paced the room Jake was in. He had taken the role of interviewing Jake, with Jill watching the door as extra security, just in case. She spent the entire time just glaring at him, and she didn't try to hide it.

"Your lady friend got a crush on me or something, pal?" Jake asked with bitter sarcasm. "She won't take her eyes off me." Though Jill had not spoken a word since she entered the room, Chris knew all too well the motive behind her behavior.

"Your father is a traitor to us," Chris muttered. "On more than one occasion he tried to have us killed. Jill was part of a worse fate, where he captured her and experimented on her for three years." Jake cradled his head in his hands, though Chris wasn't entirely sure if his emotions were genuine or not. The BSAA captain placed his hands on the table and leaned closer towards Jake's face, though he kept his distance.

"Yeah? Well I'm not my father," Jake growled, staring Chris down. "I'm not proud of some of the things I've done but I'll never be a goddamn lunatic like him." He looked at Jill, who seemed completely unmoved by his words. Chris stood upright once more.

"Even so, she doesn't trust you," he added. Jake grunted, focusing his eyes on the one-way mirror beside them. "Now," Chris continued. "What were you doing in that village?" Jake shifted his weight around, not in nervousness but in boredom.

"After we escaped that damn underwater place and I took care of my contract—" for once he meant it as an act of good and not as a soldier of fortune, "—I decided to quit mercenary work and leave. You know, travel the world, see the sights, all that jazz. About a week ago I wound up in the Middle East and found that town earlier today. I saw a kid getting attacked by a BOW, so naturally, being the good guy that I am, I saved him." Chris was sure Jake was fully aware of the irony in that statement. "When I did, the kid asked if I could help save the rest of his village. I told him I'd do it if he makes a deal with me—get me a bite to eat, and I'll handle it. He told me to promise it to him, so I did."

"Did you have any idea why there was a bioterrorist attack happening?" Chris questioned. Jake shook his head.

"If I knew that I wouldn't have asked you, would I? Anyway, I meet the kid in some house, he gives me an apple, and I start going to town on those guys. I was at it for a couple hours until you guys showed up. You know the rest."

"Describe to us the BOW's you saw," said Chris.

"Well you saw most of them yourself, big guy," Jake retorted. "It was entirely those big hulking things. I didn't see any of the J'avo until I fought them with you."

"Did you see any sign of the virus, any suspicious looking people, something that would indicate why and how the townspeople got infected?"

"I already told you I just got there when it was happening, so no. If there was any guy running around throwing free shots at people, I didn't see them, or they left before I got there."

"Do you have any idea _why_ someone would attack there?"

"Nope. I don't know a damn thing."

A hesitation prevented Chris from asking his next question. He wasn't exactly sure how he could make sense of this case. By the sound of it, the attack was planned, and yet it made no strategic sense. There was nothing there to attack, and the town was small so using it as an example similar to the fate of Lanshiang would be completely ineffective. Chris tried to make sense of the motive, but before he could finish his thoughts, he was interrupted by Jill stepping forward, staring Jake down.

"Think it has anything to do with you?" she questioned sternly. Her sudden vocalization was unexpected, yet the men didn't act like it surprised them. She kept her distance from the youth before her, having only taken a step to regain her balance. Jake smirked at her.

"You think I'm that popular? I'm flattered," he joked dryly as a response. Jill was not amused.

"Neo Umbrella did an extensive search for you and still tried to capture you even after Ada Wong was killed," she quickly continued. "You sure they're not after you again?"

"And why the hell would they be?" he spouted. "They left me alone since then. I would hope they got whatever they wanted when they stabbed me with needles a million times over for six months. Guess you guys didn't really do a good job in stopping them if they're still after me—"

"It could be possible," Chris commented. He wasn't entirely convinced Jake was somehow the motive behind the attack, but his suspicions to the young man still being a source of Neo Umbrella's attention stayed adrift in his mind. "Like Jill said, they were still after you even when Wong was killed."

"What are you trying to say here, pal?" Jake asked, hissing slightly. "You gonna put me under armed guard or something to keep those monkeys off my back?"

"We don't know if it _is_ you or if it's even Neo Umbrella," Jill commented, "but all signs are pointing to them. You being the target is just a guess."

"A guess, huh?" Jake let out a huff of a fake laugh. "You're really going to play the guessing game on this?"

"Jill's right. We don't know enough about the situation or the motives behind it yet." Chris continued to pace the room as he said those words. His face retained its usual emotionless look, yet his mind was racing with questions. He turned back around and faced Jake, though he remained where he was. "Just to be on the safe side, the BSAA will have you remain here until we are sure there will be no more attacks and that you are not a target."

"I don't believe this." Jake threw his hands up in the air, his frustration being obvious as it pulled the muscles on his face. "You might as well say you're arresting me."

"It's not an arrest. It's for your own safety," Chris answered.

"Oh sure, that's the crap you feed to the civvies, right?" Jake threw his arm around the back of the chair. "And how long will this little vacation of mine last, huh?"

"Chris…" Jill nudged the arm of her partner. "Don't you think you should talk with the reps about this first?" Chris stared at her, and was about to agree when his communicator went off with an incoming call. He pulled out his PDA from his pocket, believing it was a call regarding another mission, but he held it in stunned silence when he recognized the face of the incoming caller.

"What is it?" Jill asked, noticing the concern on Chris's face. He continued to stare at the screen in disbelief.

"It's Piers."

The room was silent with his answer. Chris looked over at the one way mirror, his eyes trying to convey a silent message, then turned his attention back to his PDA. He touched the screen to answer it, though it wasn't his old second-in-command that appeared. Instead, there was a figure there, dark and wearing what looked like a nanosuit, with a sort of insect-like helmet taking up most of its details. It didn't take Chris long to realize the figure appeared to be one of the J'avo they had faced in the underwater facility, and he didn't like the fact that it was the first thing he saw.

" _Chris Redfield."_ The J'avo spoke in a very coarse and distorted voice, a result from the virus no doubt. Chris wasn't exactly sure how the J'avo had gotten hold of Piers's communicator, but it immediately shot worry through his veins.

"Who is this?" he asked, his voice quiet yet stern. Jill hovered close to him, taking view of the PDA herself, though she was purposely out of view of its camera. Jake shifted his head in curiosity, but he remained where he was and kept silent. Chris tried to scan the area around the J'avo to see if there was any indication of where it was, but he found it to only be a dark room.

" _We are Neo Umbrella,"_ the J'avo simply answered. The "we" indicated to Chris that there were more of them, and it seemed to confirm his hypothesis that Neo Umbrella was still struggling forward even without a leader, but he subconsciously wondered if anyone had replaced the role. " _We understand that you have…Jake Muller in your custody."_ The J'avo seemed to have a hard time speaking, and Chris pondered if that was due to its advanced exposure to the C-virus. He made no indication that the J'avo's accusations were true, keeping his focus entirely on the screen in his hand.

"Why do you have Piers's communicator?" Chris suddenly demanded, the worry slipping into his voice now. He had suspicions, and he was hoping the J'avo wouldn't confirm the worst of them. The J'avo avoided the question.

" _You took Jake Muller…from us,"_ it croaked. " _We want him back."_

"Was it you who launched the attack in the Middle East?" Chris asked. He wondered if he would be able to solve this mystery, and to his surprise, the J'avo actually answered.

" _We knew…Jake Muller…was there. We wanted him. You took him from us."_

The way the J'avo was speaking sounded like it believed Jake was Neo Umbrella's property. Jill shot a look at Wesker's son, who remained silent yet his brow was lowered by angered confusion. He didn't seem to know what the J'avo was talking about, but he was angry that Jill's accusations appeared to be correct. Assuming the J'avo was actually telling the truth, at least.

"I want to know what you did with my partner. Piers Nivans," Chris spat. "Where is he?" He was getting angry now. He was certain the J'avo understood him, and yet he felt like it was toying with him.

" _You destroyed…our plan. You took Jake Muller from us. But we have…something you may…want."_ The red eyes of the figure drifted to the side, and a flash of light blinded the space behind it temporarily. When the camera was finally able to adjust, Chris nearly dropped the device at the revealing. There lay Piers, battered and bruised, bound to a chair. Blood dripped from the side of his mouth, bruises and cuts of various age scattered across the surface of his body. Oddly, the mutation that had eaten his arm from when he infected himself seemed to be completely gone; instead, his body appeared normal, yet the right side of his face was scarred as if it was burned, and his infected arm was covered in unnatural cracks in his skin that showed through to his muscle. Chris was confused, but he pushed that aside in concern as he realized Piers looked absolutely exhausted from the pain.

"Piers?" Chris muttered, absolutely aghast. His voice rose in anger as he followed, "What have you done to him?" He noticed there were more J'avo in the room now, their bright red lenses betraying their presence. The J'avo that was speaking to them before continued, yet it did not return to its place before the camera.

" _We have done nothing…to him. He had survived the final stage of the…virus, which has led to this."_ Piers's head rolled, barely conscious, as a J'avo stepped closer to him. The J'avo shoved him rather violently, which snapped Piers to attention, or as much as he could manage. " _However,"_ the J'avo continued. " _We did do some…testing, to make him…talk."_

"They've been torturing him," Jill hissed quietly behind Chris. Chris studied Piers's body; he realized that some of the bruises and cuts were appearing to fade right before his eyes, confirming that Piers still possessed the healing abilities from the virus. But the regeneration was slow, and Chris wondered if the J'avo had done something to the sharpshooter to cause it, or if it was just from too much physical trauma and too little energy from Piers to help heal it. Piers had finally realized the presence of the PDA in the room, and his eyes slightly widened—or as much as they could beyond the bruising—when he recognized his captain's face.

" _Chris?"_ he hardly managed to say. His voice was extremely rough, and it cracked slightly at his words. He seemed to finally realize what was happening. " _Oh god, Chris. Don't…don't listen to them…"_

His words were cut off as the J'avo continued. " _Though the virus can heal his…wounds, it does not stop him from still feeling…pain."_ The J'avo beside the young BSAA agent walked closer to him, extending the bladed device on its arm and lining it up on the side of Piers's ribs. It dug the tip of the blade in his skin, and Piers let out a hoarse scream as the J'avo dragged the blade across his side, forming a line of melting crimson. Jill dug her fingers into Chris's shirt at the sight, and the BSAA captain could feel his arm slightly shake. Even Jake, who could not see what was going on, turned his head away at the sound of it.

"Stop!" Chris shouted, his face now showing his desperation. "Why are you doing this?" Piers lunged his head forward when the J'avo had finally taken the blade out from him, trying to regain his breath in short, jagged gasps.

" _We will make a deal with you,"_ the J'avo stuttered. " _You give us Jake Muller…and we give you Piers Nivans…. Alive. If you fail…"_ The J'avo that had tortured Piers walked behind him and gripped his head, bringing it far back and lining up its blade with his throat. " _We will kill him."_

Chris remained completely silent and stared down the J'avo that held Piers's life in his hands. He could see Piers's body slightly shaking from a weak struggle to free himself. " _Don't do it Chris,"_ he barely managed to say. " _Don't worry about me…. Don't do it. Don't—"_ The J'avo slammed its fist into Pier's skull, knocking him out instantly. Its red eyes focused back on the camera, Chris keeping his attention directly on them.

" _Meet us at these coordinates,"_ the J'avo's voice echoed. A message popped up on the side of the screen as it finished its sentence. " _You have 24 hours…to make your decision."_ With that, the call was cut, though the image of Piers's battered body had burned itself into Chris's mind.


	6. Chapter 6

"Chris…?"

Jill stood behind her partner and stared at the hints of his reflection on the glass. They were in the area behind the one-way mirror of the interrogation room, Jake still loudly announcing his displeasure to his detainment, but even more so now that his life was asked in exchange for another. The call with the J'avo and Piers's capture had ended not too long ago, and already arguments had been thrown around for what to do. Chris stared at Jake through the mirror; though he heard Jill call his name, he left her without acknowledgement as he studied Wesker's son. The image of Piers's tortured body was stuck in his mind, and every time he looked at Jake he saw Piers next to him, bruised and bloodied.

"You know this could be a trap," Jill continued. Her words were true, and Chris never shooed away that feeling. But this could also be their only chance to save Piers. They had no idea how long he had been in Neo Umbrella's possession, but Chris couldn't stand the thought of him being abused any longer. But trading Jake for Piers's life…he was still trying to process the thought entirely.

"We need to get Piers back," he resonated, though he didn't look back at Jill. "This may be our only chance." The coordinates they were given were in the middle of the ocean, most likely on top of the rubble of the underwater facility. Chris had no doubt it was merely a location for the exchange, and he had no idea where Neo Umbrella may be hiding currently. If they were anything like their former corporation, he also had no doubt that they had dozens of labs lying about, none of which the BSAA knew the location of that weren't already destroyed in the past few months. He watched Jake, whose anger to the situation had carved a scowl on his face. It was obvious his mind held a lot of hatred for the BSAA currently, and even more for the fact that he was being treated as an object in this deal.

"You can't tell me you're going to go through with this." There was some kind of emotion in Jill's words, but they were muddled together with so many others it was hard to tell what the backbone of it was. "You have no idea if they'll actually let Piers live, or you for that matter." Chris turned around, taking notice of the confused desperation she held on her face. "I couldn't give any less of a damn of what happens to him, but I don't want you to risk your life in a stupid move like this." She was angry at him. At least, so he suspected. Her expression turned into a glare, staring at him directly to his eyes.

"I have a plan," Chris said, his voice only matter-of-fact. He could see Jill's fingers twitching.

"A plan?" she spat. "How do you know it won't fail? How do you know he won't go running off?" She practically threw her hand forward as she pointed at Jake while she spoke. Chris took a few steps closer to her.

"Because I trust him," he confessed.

"Trust him? He's Wesker's son!" Chris had never seen Jill so motivated by rage as he saw her now. He was almost certain that was entirely from her all her past experiences building up, especially given what happened in Africa. He felt pained seeing her like this. It reminded him of the state he was in when blind fury sent him on a quest to kill Wong at any costs. Only now did he understand how Piers must have felt during that time. Chris tried to calm his words down, hoping it would do the same to Jill. It took every ounce of self-restraint he had.

"He showed me mercy at a time where I'm not even sure if _I_ would've if I was in his situation," he started. "If we're going to have this plan work, we'll need his cooperation and his skills. We're going to walk out of this with everyone, alive." Though his words held confidence, he could still see the skepticism Jill carried.

"Tell me the plan," she said, a slight growl accenting her words. "But I'm coming with you. And if I see him acting up, I will take the necessary action. If that means shooting him, so be it." Though it may have sounded like a threat to anyone else, Chris knew Jill enough that she wouldn't act on her words unless she felt it necessary. Even if the distrust she felt for Jake was beyond measure.

"Alright," Chris sighed. "Here's what we'll do."

* * *

"You are one crazy son of a bitch, you know that?" The pounding of the helicopter across the ocean muffled Jake's words as they escaped his lips, but it wasn't enough to hide the disgust that covered them. "You seriously think this will work?"

Chris and Jill sat beside Jake, checking their guns and loading them to ready themselves for the exchange. Jill loaded her handgun, then took out her knife and placed it in a hidden sheath by her ankle. Chris loaded his assault rifle and placed it on his back, then took out his Nine O Nine in preparation. In order to sell the act, they had Jake's wrists bound together, though Jill still kept a wary eye on him.

"As long as you stick with the plan, things will be fine," Chris answered. Jake shook his head at him.

"Yeah? You know this isn't going to be such a cakewalk. It took me six months to escape last time. They're not going to let me off so easily this time around."

"You don't have to escape this time. If you can't get to the rendezvous point then we'll go in after you." Chris looked outside the helicopter after he finished his words, taking a scan of the area. His suspicions about the coordinates were correct in that it was by the underwater facility, though most of the debris that had floated to the surface had already been pushed to land by this point. They were miles from the Chinese shore, and nothing else but their helicopter indicated the presence of any people here. Neo Umbrella was yet to be found, but Chris kept panicked thoughts at bay until they reached the location.

They had been in the air for about half an hour before they finally came across the coordinates. "We're here, sir!" the pilot shouted to the BSAA captain. Chris and Jill looked down and scanned the area—the location turned out to be some sort of platform reminiscent of those at an oil rig. It was fairly large, and though it seemed damaged it still appeared stable enough to be able to hold the weight of the metal bird. Jill pointed downwards, noticing that Neo Umbrella seemed to have already landed, and Chris took notice of a J'avo that walked into their view, Piers in its grasp.

"They're here," Jill said, almost sighing in disbelief. They held on to the helicopter as they landed, Chris roughly grabbing Jake's arm to make it seem like he was trying to prevent him from escaping. He hoped the act would work. Chris cautioned the pilot to keep the blades running, just in case they needed to escape quickly. When they touched the ground, Chris forced Jake out with a shove, who just barely managed to land on his feet. Jill hung behind, her finger apprehensively on the trigger in case the J'avo tried to attack. Chris pulled Jake up to his feet, and placed the muzzle of his gun on the youth's temple. He could feel Jake's muscles slightly tighten from the unexpected move.

The J'avo walked forward, and Chris could see that others of its kind were circled around Neo Umbrella's own helicopter, which was off. Piers seemed to have mostly healed from his beatings before, though Chris could see that a few bruises and cuts still dotted his skin. They looked fresh, and Chris wondered if they were trying to discourage the sharpshooter from escaping, or if they just took sick pleasure in torturing him. Piers's brows were raised in absolute horror, and the J'avo lifted his hostage's chin upwards and rested its blade on his neck. Chris wondered if that was a reaction from his own handling on Jake.

" _Give us…Jake Muller,"_ the J'avo hissed. Piers slightly jerked around in the J'avo's grasp, though the J'avo simply tightened its hold on him. Chris stared it down, though he struggled to find a focal point beyond the red lenses of its mask.

"Give me Piers," he shouted. Jake gave an attempt to free himself as well, but Chris simply tightened his grip and pressed his gun deeper into his skin. For once, he was happy Jake's stubborn attitude was actually working to their advantage. The J'avo didn't budge at his demand. "Let's do it this way," Chris continued. He jerked his chin upwards as though he was pointing at something. "We'll meet half way and exchange at the same time. If you try anything…" He gently lifted the safety of his gun. "I will shoot him." His voice had a sinister tone to it, and he hoped it was able to add weight to the threat. The J'avo didn't vocalize an agreement, but it shoved Piers forward, practically dragging him as it took steps towards the half-way point. Chris mirrored this movement, kicking Jake in the back of the knee, who stumbled forward from the sudden attack on his balance.

"Take it easy, will ya?" he whispered, shooting a flash of his teeth clenched in pain. Chris didn't respond to him. The two groups ended their advancements at the middle of the platform, but neither of them released their captives. They were still a few feet away from each other, but they were close enough for Chris to see all the details of Piers's battered body. Jake shook himself around some more, and Chris violently grabbed him closer to make him stop.

"Well?" Chris asked, staring the J'avo down. The J'avo kept its vision focused on him, then pushed Piers forward, who tumbled to the ground. Chris repeated the action by throwing Jake forward as well, who stumbled over to the J'avo. The creature called out something in a distorted language, which lead to a couple of the other J'avo stepping forward and grabbing Jake. Satisfied with their new captive, the J'avo turned around and walked back to its helicopter. Chris immediately ran up to Piers and helped him up, throwing one of Piers's arms around his shoulder and using himself as a crutch for the young man to slowly stumble forward.

" _I got your back,"_ Jill commented through his communicator. " _They're not trying anything yet."_ Chris hobbled forward with Piers to their own helicopter, the sharpshooter hardly aware of what was going on.

"Captain?" he released. "Oh god, why'd you do it…" The disappointment in Piers's words slightly stung the man, but he replaced them with thoughts of the plan going successfully. Neo Umbrella started up their helicopter and took off, and once Chris had safely brought Piers aboard, they continued their own journey.

"How does it look?" Chris asked, kneeling down beside Piers. He examined the young man, whose injuries were starting to disappear now, but most of them still lingered. He observed Piers's mutated arm, taking notice of the cracked skin. Some of it seemed burned, just like the side of Piers's face, and only now was he able to realize that his right eye was also slightly glassed over, though not nearly as much as it was when he had just injected himself back at the underwater facility. Jill took out her PDA from her pocket, tapping it in a few places as though she was looking for something.

"He did it," she said, turning back to look at him. "We got a lock." Chris pulled out his own PDA to confirm, and was relieved to see a blinking red dot float across the virtual map. His partner walked over to him and also kneeled beside them, seeming to take a moment to examine Piers. "I'm going to give him a quick pat down," she said, gently grabbing Piers's limbs. "Just to make sure they didn't put anything on him." Piers was too weak to comply, so he simply remained limp as Jill pressed around in search of anything suspicious.

"You're going to be ok, Piers," Chris told him. After a few moments, Jill turned around and gave him an ok symbol with her fingers to show the conclusion of her search.

"Captain…" Piers heaved. "I can't believe you did it."

"Don't worry. Everything is going to be all right." He only hoped those words would hold true.


	7. Chapter 7

"How is he?" Chris hovered over Piers as he lay within the BSAA's medical wing. It had been about six hours since they arrived, and so much had happened since then. To be extra careful, a team did a proper search on Piers to make sure he had nothing on him before they stepped foot within the headquarters; once inside, they immediately took him to the medical wing, where they took a sample of his blood for examination. Under superior command, Piers had been given a dosage of sedatives to keep him dormant while his blood was tested as a way to be sure that his mutations would not lead him to destruction. Chris wasn't worried about that even becoming a possibility, but he was concerned to know how the virus had affected his second-in-command. Chris and Jill already had a debrief session on the encounter, and Jill made sure to have a team keeping track of where Neo Umbrella had gone. Thus far, the signal had been still for a few hours, in what appeared to be northern Russia. A recon team was being established when Chris had decided to check on Piers in the medical wing. He looked at one of the doctors that stood opposite of him, examining the medical devices at Piers's bedside.

"We've run just about every test we can so far with him being unconscious," the doctor started. "I've never seen anything like it. Piecing together what you had in your report, Captain Redfield, it seems that his arm had essentially regrown from the mutated appendage that originally replaced it." He walked over to his clipboard and flipped through a few of the pages. "We've found that the muscles in his right arm have been replaced with mutated tissue that gives him the ability to produce bioelectricity, though those levels are currently low." He handed the clipboard over to Chris, who flipped through copies of data, x-rays, and CAT scans. "His healing abilities are also back at full force now that he's had some rest." The doctor let out a bit of a cough as he said the final word, being full aware that this restful state of the agent was forced upon him. Chris took a moment to look through the rest of the papers.

"Is there any indication of Neo Umbrella doing anything to him?" he questioned. The doctor shook his head.

"Not as far as I'm aware, no. But this is the first time we've examined this form of the C-Virus so it's hard to say." He walked a bit closer to Piers's bed, giving his body a look over. "It seems that scar tissue is from the virus, and his right eye is slightly blinded, though that is just an educated guess at the moment since we have not yet preformed any sort of visual tests to confirm." Chris stared at Piers, then turned his gaze to the doctor.

"How will this virus affect him?" he questioned softly. "Will he be able to live like this?" The doctor returned the captain's gaze, a hint of worry defining his features.

"It's hard to say," he sighed. "Unlike others infected by the C-Virus, Piers retains his free will. From what I understand, the only other person to have been infected with this is Derek Simmons, whom I'm sure you've been informed of." Chris hummed an agreement, recalling the brief report he was given on the matter. "However, Simmons was able to transform his entire body and destroy much of Lanshiang. Piers would also be completely capable of doing this, which is the reason for the breaks in his skin here—" he pointed to the scarlet cracks that ran along Piers's right arm and a bit of his shoulder, "—however, seeing that only his arm is like this and the rest of his body is not, I don't believe Piers has transformed yet. It's possible he simply doesn't realize he can, or that he differs from Simmons and carries most of his power in his arm."

"Tell me, doctor." Chris began, hesitantly. "Would you consider Piers a threat to us?" The doctor seemed to be caught off guard by the question, and took a moment before he was able to answer.

"If Piers is truly in control of himself, then I don't believe so. But until we know for sure, I would advise you to keep him under armed guard at all times, Captain." Chris nodded and thanked the doctor. Just as he was exiting the room, the doctor called out to him. He looked at Chris a bit apprehensively. "As you know, sir, the vaccine can only prevent the infection of the C-Virus, not cure it. If we were to try and give Piers a dosage, it will probably kill him. It's more than likely that he will remain like this for the rest of his life." The force of the doctor's words made Chris's muscles slightly tighten, his heart feeling heavy.

"Understood," he simply sighed, then left the room. Not too long after he was stopped by Jill, who noticed him walking through the halls.

"There you are," she said, finally catching up to him. "I wanted to talk to you about something. Privately." She turned around and motioned Chris to follow her, who simply did so without word. After finding an empty room, she pulled him inside, closing the door behind them.

"Is everything alright?" Chris asked. He noticed Jill seemed a bit uneasy, though he wasn't sure if that was just her nerves to the situation or if something had actually occurred.

"I don't know," she commented, gripping her chin with her thumb. "And that's what bugs me. Did that feel like it went a little too…smoothly to you?" Chris could see where she was coming from, and he couldn't help but agree. Things did seem to go just a bit too easily. There was no sort of resistance, no sort of attack, no struggle. Compared to the attack Neo Umbrella had apparently orchestrated in the Middle East, the exchange seemed incredibly tame.

"Yeah," Chris confessed. "Think they've found us out?" They still had another few days before phase two of the plan could be initiated, and he wondered if Neo Umbrella was fully aware that Jake was in on it, or if the organization had some other sort of plan to sabotage the BSAA's own.

"I'm not sure," his partner responded. "They're clearly planning something if they want Jake, _if_ they even want him at all. I keep thinking of the stolen P30 and if Neo Umbrella actually has it." She sighed. She looked at Chris, who wasn't sure what to say. "I don't like this. They practically gave Piers to us like he was a gift, and it's making me nervous." Chris nodded, rubbing the back of his neck to distract him from the thought.

"I'm keeping Piers under armed guard until we know for sure what's going on," he commented. "As for the P30…we'll continue to keep an eye on it."

"Yeah. I might just be overthinking that, but…someone clearly wants it." Jill sighed. "Piers didn't have anything on him so I'm not so much worried about him. I don't know if Neo Umbrella is intending to use the P30 on Jake, either. Right now I'm just hoping we can go through with this plan and that he can complete his side of it." She walked back over to the door. "I'm going to go make sure our team is prepared for the next stage and keep an eye on the tracking signal. If you need me, you'll know where to find me." Chris vocalized his acknowledgement, and just as Jill was exiting she added, "Go get some sleep. You look beyond exhausted."


	8. Chapter 8

"Thank you for coming, Captain Redfield." The BSAA agent walked inside the debriefing room, his audience a collection of representatives from before. On a screen at the end of the room were projections of Piers, ranging from graphs and charts of his medical examinations to photos of him at various points since his return. One of the representatives motioned Chris to take a seat, which Chris complied to. She gathered a few papers before her and gave them a brief glance. It had been about two days since the exchange, and already Piers had been cleared from sedative use and had undergone many tests. Due to his healing abilities, he had recovered much faster than anyone was expecting, and Chris's superiors wanted to see the full capabilities of Piers's mutations immediately. He had been put under non-stop testing since then, and Chris hadn't actually gotten a chance to see him since. The representatives gathered her words to start the discussion.

"As you are aware, we have put Piers through many tests and simulations to see the effects that the C-Virus has had on his body. Thus far he has been nothing but cooperative and we have found very interesting results." She turned to the screen behind her and flipped through some of the slides. "As you can see, Piers still retains the ability to produce bioelectricity like you had described in your report from the underwater facility. We have found that he can use this energy as a weapon with his arm in its normal state; however, if it transforms the energy output doubles and the damage is much more severe." She played a video of one of the tests, which showed Piers in the BSAA's target practice arena. The first take showed his arm dancing with blue electricity, which he shot at a target and burned a hole in its chest region. In the next take, Piers complied with an order from one of the scientists to attempt to transform his mutated limb, and Chris watched in amazement as the skin on Piers's arm moved around as though it was living armored plating. They became buried underneath some sort of mutated tissue that expanded and engulfed his limb, and Chris noticed some odd blue sacs that bubbled onto the tissue, apparently being the source of the bioelectric energy. The mutation seemed similar to the one that had replaced his arm when Piers had first injected himself, though it seemed much more controlled and its size varied. Using this arm, Piers charged up his energy and shot a blast at an adjacent target, which caused half of it to explode in burning shards of wood. In contrast to the early stages of his infection, however, Piers did not seem affected by the use of this energy, not even showing signs of it causing exhaustion. A new slide soon replaced the video.

"In order to keep things controlled, we have limited the tests regarding his transformation ability purely on his arm thus far," the representative continued. "What we have found is that Piers has the capability to morph his arm into many forms that can be used as weapons, as well as put it in a default state that imitates a fully-functioning human arm." Chris took notice of the slides that proved this claim. One slide showed Piers's normal arm, complete with the cracked skin, then the one of the bioelectric energy tests from before, then another one that showed claw-like extensions originating from his hand that reached down to his mid-calf. More slides showed variations of the rest, and how they could combine into different forms. "As well as this, we've also realized that while Piers is indeed slightly blind in his right eye, he can now see in dark areas as a form of natural night vision. This does not seem to have affected his remarkable aim, however." Another video appeared on the screen of Piers walking into a dark room with a pistol in hand. Through the camera's low light setting, Chris watched as Piers cleared obstacles without difficulty and perfectly shot targets that popped up at him at various points. "In addition, we have realized that Piers also retains the standard effects of the C-virus, including enhanced speed and super-human strength." More videos and slides appeared to demonstrate this. "However, there are downsides to this form of the virus." The representative handed over a few papers to Chris, who carefully scanned them over. "As you can see, the internal temperature of Piers's body skyrockets each time a transformation occurs. In order to combat this, his body lets out jets of steam, which we can only imagine will be much greater if his transformations become more extreme. Like the J'avo, there is a high possibility that Piers can succumb to these intense temperatures and burn to death if he is not careful. However, this version of the virus is much more stabilized than the standard C-Virus, so the likelihood of this happening is minor." Chris continued to read the pages he was handed, then returned his attention to the representatives in front of him.

"What is the state of his mental integrity?" he questioned. "Does he still possess his free will?" The representative nodded.

"Indeed, Piers is still capable of making decisions on his own and his knowledge and brain functions do not seem to be affected at all. He is still the same man, mentally speaking." She looked up at him, her dark eyes lining up with the hardened captain. "We have also tried to question him regarding his time spent in Neo Umbrella's captivity, but he remembers very little and we're afraid the information is not enough to be of help." Chris's head slightly bobbed in acknowledgement. The representative continued, "As you have requested, we have no fewer than three guards armed with standard assault rifles in his presence at all times. Thus far he has not shown any signs of hostility or breakdown. However, Captain Redfield, should the need ever arise—"

"I know." Chris was fully aware of what the woman was about to say, though he didn't want to hear it. "What are you planning to do with Piers now that he's back in the BSAA?" An answer was not immediately given to Chris, and instead the room was filled with whispers and murmurings of the representatives. It made Chris wary of what they would finally say, and he prepared himself for an argument if it was necessary. The representative that spoke before silenced the others with a raise of her hand.

"As you can imagine, Captain, having a BOW in our possession is incredibly risky in and of itself, not to mention it's a unique case in that it's one of our own men and he still holds his free will. If word about Piers were to get out to the public we have no doubt it would cause a panic, especially given that the infection of China and Tall Oaks is still fresh in memory. Though Piers's abilities are certainly remarkable with the infection of the virus, it goes against our very code to have a weapon of terrorism working within our lines. As co-founder, I'm sure I don't have to tell you this." Memories of the last altercation during Chris's debriefing three months ago brought themselves forward in the captain's thoughts. They were still treating Piers as though he was an object, which only frustrated the man even more.

"Piers is a strong soldier," Chris began. Though his emotions were simmering, he tried to carefully word his thoughts. "Even if he's been infected I would still trust him with my life, as I already did when we faced Haos."

"And we do not disagree," a different representative chimed in. "But realistically speaking, Captain Redfield, we do not know the full extent of Piers's abilities, and as we've already discussed, if the public were to catch word that a BOW was in our custody within American borders it could cause a riot and we would be shut down without question." Chris didn't deny these words. He was fully aware of the potential consequences that Piers carried as a heavy burden to them all, however he knew Piers's loyalty to their cause was great and Chris had no doubt that his second-in-command would rather destroy himself than become a weapon for bioterrorism, as he had already attempted to do in the underwater facility.

"What will you do with him, then?" the captain asked. "You're doing all these tests on his combat abilities, yet you're refusing to let him return to the field. You can't just keep him here against his will."

"Rejoining the BSAA forces is only something we have barred him from for the time being," a representative commented. "We have no idea what can happen with Agent Nivans and all of our decisions regarding his status are being made with the welfare of the general public in mind. These tests are to see how the virus has fully affected him and if he can be considered 'stable', both mentally and physically speaking. Even if he proves that he is trustworthy and his mutations do not compromise him, BOW's are primarily understood as weapons of mass destruction due to the actions of Umbrella and its copy-cat organizations, and as such it will take a long time before the public can accept the idea of a counter-bioterrorism group using one in the fight against them. If word gets out that it's one of our men who was infected in the line of battle, people will being to question our motives and our efforts to end bioterrorism will be greatly challenged."

"We understand how much he means to you, Captain, however you must look at the bigger picture here." Chris was hardly given any time to comment before another representative had joined in to the conversation. Chris stared the lot of them down, though his face did not show the emotions he was currently feeling.

"I'm fully aware of the consequences and do agree with what you are saying to some extent," he confessed. "However, as Piers's immediate superior, his well-being is a priority to me and I will not tolerate him being treated as a lab rat—"

"And we are not doing that," the woman representative from before interrupted, her voice stern in repulse from the accusation. "His safety is as large of a concern to us as it is to you, Captain. I assure you that Piers is being treated only with the utmost respect and care from our most trusted men and women in this branch." Chris circled his focus around to each representative in the room, scanning them over. After a moment's rest, he finally continued the conversation.

"Fine," he simply exhaled. "But I want constant updates on your findings at the end of each day." A rumble of thought echoed from the representative's throat.

"Very well," she answered. "Unless you have any other questions, Captain, we are done here. You still have less than twenty-four hours before the execution of phase two. Have you made all necessary preparations?" She seemed grateful for the change in subject.

"Jill has been handling the recon and we have the bomb ready to go," the hardened soldier answered. "Recon should be reporting in about an hour from now." The representatives collectively nodded.

"Understood," one of them responded. "You are dismissed. If you'd like to see Agent Nivans now, you may. He is in his quarters." Chris immediately got up at those words, making quick haste to his second-in-command. When he arrived, two guards were at the door. They saluted the captain as he walked closer, who greeted them and walked inside.

"Chris?" Piers was sitting on his bed, one of his hands holding the weight of his head. Chris could see the wariness on him—he looked exhausted, and Chris believed this was the first moment of unscheduled time the young man had had since the tests started. Piers immediately perked up as he saw his partner walk through, hiding the stress on his expression with the look of surprise. The remaining guard stood by the door on the inside of Piers's room, and Chris nodded an acknowledgement at him while he closed the door. The captain looked at Piers, taking a few steps closer to him.

"It's good to know you're doing ok," he began. He gave a smile to him, one that was backed by the huge sense of relief he felt in finally being able to talk to Piers once again. "How are you feeling?" Piers's expression had taken a turn at those words. He looked upset, understandably so, and he avoided eye contact with Chris as he rose to his feet. His answer took a few moments to arrive, being stalled by a shake of his head as though he was trying to work the emotions in his mind.

"How do you think I feel?" he finally let out. "I was tortured for three months, I'm now some kind of goddamn monster, and the BSAA is treating me like a science project." The sharpshooter crossed his arms with his back towards the door as he said those words, his attention trying to distract itself by observing the contents of his room. Chris averted his eyes at Piers's words, understanding the emotions he must be feeling.

"I know it must be hard for you, Piers." He didn't try to claim that he knew what the young man was going through. "But you can't blame the reps for wanting to be thorough. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that the BSAA has never encountered a situation like this before and we want to be sure everything is under control. If there is something I can do to make the circumstances more comfortable—"

"No," Piers interrupted. He sighed, then slowly turned back around to face the man. "I'm sorry, it's just…I injected myself because I had no other choice. I tried to go down with the ship because I was afraid I would lose control and wind up killing you, and now here I am, alive and sane, stuck with…this." He threw the weight of his mutated arm around as he said that, then raised it back up and ran a finger down the visible cracks on his wrist. His shirt covered the most of it, though Chris could still see the hardened plates that made up his skin, the streams of red that showed his underlying mutated muscle. The desperation in Piers's words was demonstrated just as well on his face as he said that, the scar tissue that crossed his face warping with his frown. Even his blinded eye somehow managed to convey his emotion through its foggy off-white. It took Piers a moment before he could collect himself. "Captain," he said after a while. "What about Jake Muller? Why did you give him up?" Chris's face remained emotionless at this question, though Piers could detect the thoughts running through his head.

"Don't worry. It's all part of a plan we concocted to get rid of Neo Umbrella for good, or at least cripple them down to much lesser threat." Piers raised a brow at this.

"What are you saying?"

"I can't give much of the details right now. But let's just say we're using extreme force."

"Chris." Piers took a few steps closer to him, though he seemed as though he was reluctant to say the following words. "I know it's probably a lot to ask now…but could I be a part of this plan?" He was just a few feet away from his partner now, and Chris could see the determination that burned in his eyes. "I want to be sure I take a part in the destruction of the monsters that used me for their sick pleasure." He ended his words with a growl, his face being distorted with his anger. Chris could see from this distance exactly how the virus had affected the right side of his face, and he had to say it intensified the look of his emotions on a much more menacing level.

"Wish I could, but I can't give that order," he simply answered. Piers seemed angered by this.

"What? Don't tell me you don't trust me either."

"I do trust you. But the decision is out of my hands. I've been told we still need a more solid idea of how the virus has affected you before you can be cleared to enter battle again. Believe me, I just came from arguing with the heads over this." Piers muttered something under his breath, averting his eyes.

"I guess I can't do anything but listen to you then." He walked back to his bed and reclaimed his place, his disappointment being clear. "Alright. But if the opportunity arises, I'll rejoin your side immediately." Piers seemed as though he was stuck in thought for a moment, but suddenly switched his attention back at the inception of an idea. "Hey, captain. My next test is in about ten minutes. The doctors want to test my hand-to-hand combat ability and I'd be honored if you could spare a few minutes to spar with me. It shouldn't take too long. Maybe we can catch up a bit too." Chris considered the offer, at first considering how it would affect his schedule, but felt that a thirty minute sparring session wouldn't really do anything to his plans.

"Of course," he said with a nod. Piers smiled at this.

"Thanks, captain. They'll be doing it in the gym; one of the doctors should be here in a few minutes to escort me there."

The gym of the BSAA's headquarters had a section reserved specifically for hand-to-hand combat training, and today it was absolutely filled with doctors and scientists and anyone else taking part in the test. Chris and Piers arrived with a doctor and Piers's entourage of guards surrounding them. Before they could begin, the two agents had to wait momentarily for Piers to be hooked up with many different wires and sensors for the friendly battle. Chris could only imagine how odd it must feel to fight with those on.

"You ready?" Chris asked, after the doctors had finally stopped swarming the young sharpshooter. He raised his fists up and got in a battle-ready stance.

"Yeah," Piers answered, mirroring his captain. "Don't go easy on me." The two of them began shuffling, neither of them taking the first step to begin the battle. Chris scanned Piers in search of some sort of weak point or an oversight in his stance. To his credit, Piers was taught well, and seemed to have taken care of most of his bases.

"Captain," Piers released. He began slowly circling around the arena, and Chris did the same to follow him. "You said you'll be taking down Neo Umbrella with 'extreme force'. You're not seriously going to storm in there, are you?" Chris took the moment to lunge forward and try and attack Piers; his opponent stepped out of the way and returned the motion, but Chris dodged it just as easily.

"Not exactly. We're going to sneak inside using a distraction. I'm making sure we have a good amount of people just in case things get too heated, though." Piers launched his fist forward, which Chris simply blocked; he was surprised, however, at the strength of the impact, and he wondered if this was due to virus's effect.

"A distraction?" Piers asked. Chris threw an uppercut at Piers, who blocked it, and preformed an unsuccessful counter attack. "Does this have something to do with Jake?"

"Yeah," Chris confirmed. "We're hoping he'll be able to cause one, at least. We're prepared to go in after him just in case."

"I see." Piers let out three consecutive attacks to his opponent. Chris blocked all three of them, but the force of the impact managed to slide him backwards. He could see the doctors taking notes on this from the corner of his eyes. "But how are you planning to take down Neo Umbrella this way?" Chris faked out a punch, which Piers attempted to block, then managed to successfully hit Piers in the abs from this oversight. He allowed Piers to quickly shake it off.

"Simple. We're going to blow them sky-high." Piers seemed surprised by this, and briefly stopped his movements but continued when he realized he just left himself open for attack.

"Seriously? You're gonna bomb the place? That's insane!" He threw a low punch at Chris, then one towards his face. Chris managed to block the first one but was too slow to avoid the second and he let his face ride with the impact. The strength behind it was great, though it didn't feel like Chris received any injuries from it aside from discomfort. He brushed off the sweat from his brow and recovered.

"Maybe so." His voice was hoarse from the attack. "But if this plan is successful, it will destroy most of them and will make picking off the remnants much easier. The more of their resources we destroy, the harder it will be for them to launch another full-scale bioterrorist attack." He charged at Piers with the full force of his weight in attack; Piers, however, dodged it faster than Chris had ever seen him move, and Piers slipped behind him and slammed Chris to the floor. The captain let out a yelp as the air in his lungs were forced out of him. He was impressed by Piers's move, and more-so by the fact that he had actually bested him. He could hear a chorus of whispers being spread around by the doctors as they continued to jot down notes. Piers walked over to Chris and held his hand out, to which Chris gladly accepted.

"Nice work," Chris said, brushing off the sweat. "Looks like you're better than I thought." The young man thanked him with a modest smile.

"Think you'd be up for a second round?" Piers asked. Chris was about to accept the invitation when Jill walked into the room, seeming relieved to finally find the two of them.

"Chris," she said as she neared them. "Just got the recon report. We should look at it and get started." Chris nodded at this, wiping off the sweat from his face with a brush of his arm.

"Oh, Piers," he suddenly said. "I don't think you ever properly met my longtime partner, Jill Valentine, have you?" Piers wiped off the sweat of his mutated hand on his pants and held it out, to which Jill gripped firmly in a handshake.

"I've heard much about you, Miss Valentine," he said in admiration. "It's good to finally meet you."

"Likewise," Jill said with a slight smile. "I'm sure we'll work together some day." She excused herself and Chris from the room, and the two bid a temporary farewell to the sharpshooter. When they were far enough to be out of ear shot, Jill asked, "Everything ok?"

"Yeah," Chris nodded. "The reps aren't letting Piers onto the field for a while yet so I thought I'd help him in his hand-to-hand combat test." A murmur of understanding rumbled from Jill's throat. "Now, let's see where they went to," Chris continued, as they walked down the hall.


	9. Chapter 9

"So Jake's signal leads to an abandoned building in northern Russia?" Chris looked over the report from the recon team, examining the photos that they provided. It appeared to be some sort of open field that held a broken down house, the landscape completely buried in the country's typical snow. There were no signs indicating movement in the snow—no footprints, drag marks, snow pushed to the side from the helicopter blades—which made Chris wonder exactly where the entrance was. Then again, the snow appeared fresh, and it was entirely possible any sign of interaction could have been covered over by this point.

"Yeah," Jill hummed. "The signal is originating from underground, so it's entirely possible that the house is just a decoy and the entrance to some kind of underground lab is around there somewhere." More than likely the house had some sort of hidden latch or service tunnel entrance to the lab, or at least that's what Chris suspected.

"Wouldn't surprise me at all," he commented. "Has there been any news from Jake?"

"No, but it's still too early. Preparations for phase two are complete; I've got the bomb loaded on one of the choppers and I'm ordering the recon team to remain there and keep an eye on any suspicious activity, but so far they haven't seen anything. They'll be acting as backup when we finally arrive." She turned her focus to her partner. "How do you think Jake's doing?"

"The kid is tough. I'm sure by now he's already got his escape planned out." Chris looked at Jill, his brow slightly narrowed in thought. "Still, I can't shake the feeling that Neo Umbrella might have already gotten what they wanted from him."

"No way." She looked at him in disbelief. "It took them six months to develop the enhanced C-Virus. Even then, that was with Ada Wong on the job." She leaned in a bit closer to him. "If you're right and Neo Umbrella really is just a collection of leftover J'avo and scientists there's no way they'll be able to create something else in just a few days." Chris nodded.

"I guess you're right, but they also had Piers for three months. He can't really remember what happened during that time, and it seems a bit out of Neo Umbrella's interest to kidnap someone simply for torture." He dropped the weight of his hands on the table. "Either way, be prepared to extract Jake in case he doesn't make it to the rendezvous. I want as many of our best men as we can get on this case." Jill nodded in acknowledgement.

"Think they might be planning an ambush on us?" she questioned. Chris recalled their conversation earlier about things seeming to have gone too smoothly, and he could understand her reasoning behind those thoughts.

"If that's the case, we'll still have recon as backup and we can play it safe and delay the second team. We'll keep an eye on the situation and judge it from there." Jill nodded in acknowledgement. "Get the team prepped for departure and inform them of details for when we arrive. We need this to go as smoothly as possible. We leave in one hour."

"Understood," Jill released, and with that the two went their separate ways.

Just a few days ago one hour felt like an eternity to Chris, but now it seemed like it was hardly that much time at all. Those sixty minutes passed so quickly, though perhaps it was Chris's apprehension that was doing that. Jill and the rest of their team were waiting for him in the hangar, suited up and prepared to go. Two helicopters rested outside in wait for them—one carried the bomb they were intending to plant in the facility, so in order to make up for the space they had another chopper prepared to take the rest of the team. Chris walked over to them with a stern expression on his face; this was the mission where everything mattered, where they could finally be rid of Neo Umbrella and its troubles.

"You ready?" Jill questioned. She never looked more determined to go on a mission, and Chris knew she shared the same thoughts as he did about it.

"Yeah," he commented. "Are the helicopters all set?"

"The bomb is set to go and the pilots are waiting for your command, sir," one of the team members told him. Chris nodded.

"Alright," he began. "You've already been informed about this mission, so I'm sure I don't need to remind you the severity of this. We need you all to be at your absolute best today. This mission will be extremely dangerous; this is the last chance you have to back out." No one took the offer.

"Let's go!" Jill shouted, and motioned for the team to start boarding. The blades of the metal birds began spinning at this motion as well, stirring the air around them with incredible force.

"Captain!" Chris turned around to hear the voice of Piers behind them, who jogged towards them with guards in tow. He took a quick moment to catch his breath so he could speak when he arrived in front of the two. "I just wanted to wish you luck on this mission. I wanted to be sure I told you myself in case anything happens." Out of the corner of Chris's eye came a blur of a figure motioning at them, and Jill excused herself and ran towards it. He then realized it was one of the doctors, though he focused again on Piers when he realized Jill seemed to be taking care of it. Chris put his hand on Piers's shoulder as a way of comfort.

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine." His voice was genuine in confidence, despite the question of whether or not Neo Umbrella was expecting them still being unanswered. Chris's attention was soon distracted, however, as he realized Jill had drawn out her rifle…and was for some reason aiming right for the two. His look of confusion caused Piers to turn around in search of the source for his captain's emotions, and he too seemed startled at Jill's odd actions.

"Get out of the way, Chris!" she screamed from behind her scope. "He's been infected with P30!"

 _What?_

At that moment, time itself seemed to have stopped. All of Chris's senses were frozen, drowned out—the boom of the helicopter sweeps were muted, Jill's cries were left unheard. The shock went through him like a wave, tightening his muscles and leaving him aghast. _No…_

"How?"

That question barely came out of him as a whisper. It was a crack in his voice, something that slipped out with his lips hardly even processing it. Piers did nothing to deter the accusation, not even trying to prove his innocence. Blue energy began to bounce off his arm, his face started to contort with a yell. Chris was too late to react as he watched Piers send shots of bioorganic electricity towards his partner. There was no way she could have possibly avoided the shock—in an instant she was hit with the full force of the energy and her body wildly convulsed, before it shut down and she collapsed onto the ground.

" _No!"_ Immediately Chris pulled out his assault rifle and aimed it right at Piers, the anger of his betrayal and the attack on Jill fueling his motions. How did this happen? Piers had no device on him, there was nothing that showed up in his blood. It had been days since they had freed him from Neo Umbrella's grasp, by now the chemical would have been completely expelled from his body. This wasn't possible. This was _not_ possible.

He had Piers right in his sight, his barrel aligned with his head directly in the crosshairs, but he couldn't pull the trigger. It was confusion, it was denial, it was him failing to act. Piers turned around and looked at him, his arm bubbling and unfolding into a mutated mass of black and red muscles, blue sacs of electricity, bone extending into gigantic claws. He smacked Chris out of the way, the super strength behind his motion throwing Chris across the room and rolling many feet away upon impact. He could hear the cracks of the energy surrounding Piers's arm, and Chris watched in horror as a gigantic bolt of electricity launched from his mutation and directly hit one of the helicopters. The impact light the metal beast aflame, followed by a gigantic boom as the energy caused it to combust, metal, fire, and smoke pushing everywhere. Chris screamed as he realized his team was in those flames, their cries drowned out in the explosion. Piers turned around to Chris and stared him down, his face showing no remorse to his actions. A flash of blue soon surrounded him and Chris could feel his body jolting, before it finally came to a rest and his vision drifted into black.

* * *

 _ **This was the last chapter I wrote before I landed in the hospital and all that started. I swear this ending on a cliffhanger was a complete coincidence.**_

 _ **Thank you for reading all the way to the end! I hope you enjoyed what was here. Like I said I am interested in continuing this (if only to get the damn thing done) so if you have any ideas feel free to let me know!**_


End file.
